Blue Shark:

The blue shark is one of the most beautiful sharks, renowned for its long pectoral fins and frequent migration. They feed mostly on small fish, squids, and cephalopods and can be found in all tropical and temperate waters. Blue sharks can easily be distinguished by their conical snout, circular eyes, blue color, long pectoral fin, and pure white belly. They prefer to swim at the water’s surface, with their long pectoral fins out of the water. Blue sharks have serrated and triangular teeth, making it difficult for slippery prey to escape them after they have caught them. They grow at an incredible rate, reaching sexual maturity between the ages of 5 and 6, and living up to 17 years.

Blue sharks play a crucial role in the marine ecosystem, assisting in the maintenance of prey-predator interaction. Blue sharks’ lateral lines have been modified to detect even the tiniest movements in the water. Blue sharks’ gill rakers are designed for filter feeding, allowing them to catch tiny invertebrates like shrimp. A fascinating fact about blue sharks is that females have thicker skin than males, and their skin color changes from blue to dark grey when they are out of the water. Blue sharks are not aggressive towards humans and will approach marine divers at any time.

Conservation Status:

Blue sharks are considered “near threatened” in the list of marine species. Blue shark fins are extremely valuable; thus, humans hunt them for their fins. They are extensively distributed across the world’s open oceans, and they are frequently caught in nets by accident. Large marine predators such as great white sharks, tiger sharks, and killer whales hunt blue sharks.